Six bridges, four miles, two feet: The fastest way to see London - a riverside jogging tour

I am attempting to warm up for the four-mile run that will occupy my next hour. But every time I poke out a leg - as I try to stretch my hamstrings and awaken my calf muscles - an American pensioner threatens to trip over it.

Across London on foot: The capital offers a fine setting for a short run - if you can dodge the crowds

The problem, you see, is my whereabouts. I am standing just outside the busier of the two exits to Tower Hill Tube station. It is a cold but enjoyably crisp winter afternoon, and this key interchange on the District and Circle Lines is busy.

Every minute, another train rumbles under foot, disgorging another army of tourists. They come walking up the stairs in little clusters and knots, intent on glimpsing the Tower Of London, immediately adjacent – or the Victorian drama of Tower Bridge as it spans the Thames, just beyond.

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Frankly, I have chosen an inconvenient location for my much-needed bout of exercise.

But then, I am not here for a bog-standard lunchtime dash, a semi-motivated concession to a dog-eared list of New Year Resolutions. I am here to take part in an experience that is becoming increasingly popular in London – a jogging tour of (some of) its best sights.

Next to me – also warming up amid the visitors from Texas, Tallahassee and Tennessee – Denise Sofia is the crucial part of the equation.

Best feet forward: City Jogging Tours offer a variety of energetic running routes around the capital

Kitted out in the latest running gear and trainers, she is a guide for City Jogging Tours, a company that specialises in excursions around the capital for the fleet-of-foot. The idea is straight-forward: imaginative routes aimed at those who want to see the city’s big landmarks while burning off a few calories – a clever yet simple concept that seems well-suited to the time-pressed 21st century.

In particular, Denise and I are about to set off on the ‘Riverside London’ tour – a seven kilometre (4.3-mile) jaunt that traces the Thames on both banks between Tower Hill and Westminster, crossing several bridges before finishing outside the Houses of Parliament.

There are other options too, including ‘Scenic London’, an eight-kilometre (five-mile) trip which takes in Regent’s Park, Regent’s Canal and Little Venice en route to Camden.

As we set off down the hill, crossing Byward Street, then bumping along the cobbles above the waterfront, Denise explains the process. ‘We’ll take it at a reasonable pace, but just shout if we’re going too quickly,’ she says. ‘And if you want to stop to take photos at any point, let me know. The tour is supposed to take an hour, but we have plenty of time.’

Photos are unlikely to be an issue. As a London resident of 15 years, I have strolled over Tower Bridge in every season, and know each South Bank paving stone by heart. However, I am not the target audience. The runs are designed for visitors who want to see a lot in a short time-frame – including business travellers with only a few spare minutes.

Along the cobbles: Chris's route began at Tower Hill, and took him over Tower Bridge before following the river

Yet this is not to say that the tours offer nothing of interest for Londoners, or those who spend regular weekends in the metropolis.

As we jog, Denise points out things of note, and less-known sites that may have escaped the attention of even the most observant city-dweller. These include Dead Man’s Hole, a dingy inlet below Tower Bridge, so named because it is a spot where the Thames has long given up its dead. In earlier, darker centuries, these would be hauled ashore here by professional collectors, and swapped for cash at any London hospital seeking bodies for scientific experimentation or education.

The crowds thin out a little once we have negotiated Tower Bridge and started to head west along the Thames’s lower edge – past the futuristic bulk of City Hall and the naval heritage of HMS Belfast.

We leap the river again on London Bridge, then follow the north bank to the crowded promontory of the Millennium Bridge, where, midway across, we pause for the first time. ‘Feeling good?’ my guide asks. I am – but perhaps not quite as much as Denise herself, who looks as if she has barely run a yard, let alone two miles. Never mind. This is an ideal juncture at which to recover my breath. Behind, Tower Bridge stands majestic as, ahead, Tate Modern pushes its brown-brick tower into the sky.

Steady as he goes: Chris pauses for a quick breather on the Millennium Bridge (left), and looks pretty relieved at not collapsing en route after making it to his journey's end outside the Houses Of Parliament (right)

Denise continues to talk as she runs, identifying other little nuggets of London's landscape: a set of semi-concealed stairs, leading down from the road level of London Bridge to the water below which, in 15 years, I have never once noticed; the words ‘London Bridge’ printed on the underside of the structure for the edification of any passers-by unsure of their exact co-ordinates; solar panels on the entrance to the new Blackfriars Tube station; the grizzly tale of Roberto Calvi, the Italian banker found hung from one of the arches on Blackfriars Bridge in June 1982, his pockets stuffed with $14,000 in various foreign currencies – placed there by his alleged mafia executioners.

This latter story is told as we forge north across the bridge in question – before picking up the pace along the graceful curve of Victoria Embankment.

Four miles on foot: The route follows the river from Tower Bridge to the London Eye (left rear of shot)

Here, Denise explains that being a
running guide is a side-line – that she has a full-time day job, but
that, having been integral to the launch of the Rome version of City
Jogging Tours in 2006 (the London incarnation arrived in 2008), she
wanted to continue her involvement. This is an excellent way to stay
fit, and you meet some really interesting people,’ she explains.

By now, we are nearing the conclusion of our journey.

Two more bridges await: the pedestrian Golden Jubilee Bridge (along the side of Hungerford Bridge) – where Denise gestures to the 'Skateboard Graveyard', a pile of broken wheels and splintered wood deposited here by the daredevils who speed around the skate park underneath Queen Elizabeth Hall, left in ‘tribute’ on top of one of the support stanchions – and our final goal, Westminster Bridge. A 3pm throng is milling around the London Eye, but once we have hurdled the pushchairs and dodged around the teenagers queuing for tickets, the end of our mini-marathon is finally visible.

Afterlife: One of the support plinths on Hungerford Bridge has become a cemetery for broken skateboards

As we draw to a halt next to the Palace of Westminster, I realise three things. That I have learned a lot about a city that I assumed I knew. That I have run over four miles (almost) without noticing the effort. And that Denise still does not look as if she has moved more than a metre.

It takes me a few minutes to appreciate the aching in my legs, and the swirl of people all around me – including the profusely apologetic young mother who somehow rolls her baby and buggy over my weary foot. Usain Bolt certainly does not have to deal with that.

Travel Facts

City Jogging Tours (0845 544 0433; www.cityjoggingtours.co.uk) offer a selection of guided runs around London. The 'Riverside London' run costs £26 per person as a scheduled tour, with departures on Mondays and Fridays at 8am, 10am and 6pm, and on Sundays at 10am.

Customised tours can also be arranged, costing from £23 to £46 a head, depending on numbers.

All participants also receive a New Balance running top as part of the package